Mistake
by Raventhedarkgoddess
Summary: A villan is told to kidnap Robin's girlfriend and kidnaps Raven. But was it really a mistake? Or did Slade know something Robin couldn't? (Completed) To Krazy4Robin.
1. Baited

Raventhedarkgoddess: Here's another story.  
  
Robin: Great. *rolls eyes*  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: I don't own Teen Titans or anything else in this story. The only origanal thing in here is any OCs and the plotline, even though it's been used before. Review,please. And this note is for Priestess: Sorry, I know this one isn't a story you wanted me to write, but I am working on a R/C fic, so don't get too mad.  
  
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Chapter One: Baited  
  
Raven straightened up, looking upset and wary. A bit of her short hair fell straight over one eye, which was wide and survaying the room with a look of distrust. Her meditation had stopped and her body had recived a sense of forbidding. She felt as if something would go wrong today.  
  
"You okay, Raven?" The Titans leader looked at her, eyes full of concern. He had noticed her wild stare and lost expression, and wanted to see what was upsetting her.  
  
Raven brushed away the happhazerd strand of hair, trying to calm herself down. "Nothing, bad vibe. That happens sometimes."  
  
"Uh-huh," Robin said suppiously, but let the subject drop between them and saw Raven appered relived.  
  
"I wooped you again!", Terra proclaimed. Her eyes danced with a form of excitment Raven couldn't understand. After all, thought Raven, all she did was beat Beast Boy at some stupid game for the hundreth time.  
  
"REMATCH!" The green changling stood up on the couch, trying to use his hight to his advantage. All he did, however, was fall flat on his face off the couch and onto the worn carpet. Cyborg let out a laugh, which made Beast Boy give him an angry glare. Regaining his will to fight, or what was left of it after that embarrising moment, Beast Boy grabbed his controler and took his place on the arm of the couch.  
  
"I do not quite understand the point of this game. Why must Terra's car keep beating Beast Boy's? And how do you defeat this game?" The alein girl looked a bit confused, her head cocked to one side. Robin moved over, took her hand, and began to explain to her the point of the game.  
  
Raven's mind was pretty much back to it's usual state. After thinking about it for a second, she decided to ignore her thoughts. After all, she argued with the last of her doubt, you've been wrong before.  
  
"YES! I won, I won, who da man?" Beast Boy smiled, having won the game. Starfire was nodding to Robin in the corner, making it clear that she understood what was going on. Robin moved away from her and slid back toward Raven.  
  
Terra flipped back her hair, sulking slighty. "Come on, it IS only a game, BB," she said, but her voice held a sharp edge. Beast OBy gave her a see-all, know all look indicating that he didn't belive that she didn't care.  
  
"Are you sure you're okay, Raven?" Robin sat down next to her. A nagging voice in his head laughed at him. Shut up, he told it,I just wanna make sure she's okay.  
  
"I'm fine, Robin. I'm going upstairs to meditate." Raven stood up and left the room.  
  
Robin's eyes followed Raven up the stairs. Her hand took the banister, and Robin suddenly noticed her grace and dignity. He gave himself a little mental slap.  
  
"Come on, you two." Cyborg pulled Beast Boy and Terra apart. Terra had lunged at a still bragging Beast Boy, and the two had begun to beat each other up, forgeting their powers and using their fists. Both sat on the edge of the couch and began sulking.  
  
In Slade's Lair...  
  
Slade sat perched on the edge of his chair. He was waiting for the key to his plan, a new villan who seemed ready to help. he would have his apprintice, as soon as the girl showed up. She would help him capture Robin.  
  
The creak of a door was heard, and an uncertain voice was heard. "Master Slade?" Footsteps echoed around the room, and then a young girl appered from the shadows. Her black jeans and shirt were barley visible under a long black cloak, the hood down. Her dark eyes shone, staring stright into Slade's.  
  
"Don't call me Master, Lecita. You are my equal, worthy of being like my partner," Slade siad, his voice like that of one speaking to someone who needed to have everything explained to them. The girl took no notice, however.  
  
"Slade, then. So, what's going to need done for the promised payment?" The girl flipped her black hair back, shuffling her feet in a nervous way. Slade took note of this.  
  
"Nothing is really complicated, dear. Just go after the girl with the little stone pendent around her neck." Slade looked at her, sensing how afrid she was about screwing up and not getting the money.   
  
"No problem." Even to Lecita, her voice seemed ver weak. She gave a feeble little laugh, which was no better. Finally, she just jerked her hair up in a holder and pulled up her hood. She had to create a trap for the Titans, and she would have to act quickly.  
  
Around Eleven O' Clock at Titan Tower...  
  
Raven staggered down the stairs. She hadn't even eaten yet, and felt her stomach growl. The Titan leader stood at the bottom, almost as if he'd been waiting for her. Weird, Raven thought. "Hello, Robin," she said, a her monotone a little icier than usual.  
  
Robin noticed the tone and wondered if she'd seen something again. "I was just coming up to get you. you hadn't eaten all day, and I was worried..."  
  
"Robin," she began flatly, "I find it great that you're so worried, but I can handle this on my own." She walked to the kitchen, still quesioning Robin's sudden interest in her problem.  
  
Raven heated some tea and began to raid the fridge. "Toffu, steak, saddness pudding...Don't we have any noraml food?",She mussed under her breath.  
  
"Rav," came a cry from the living room, "Trouble!" Raven slammed the door on the fridge and ran out of the kitchen. Cyborg stood there, his voice tone dropping now that she has come. "Jewel robbery. Robin says the whole team needs to come for practice," he said.  
  
Raven didn't bother answering, just took off out the door, where Starfire, Robin, Terra, and Beast Boy were waiting. "Thank you! We were freezing our asses off!" The changeling's tone was mocking but not unkind. Terra just gave her a look that indicated she was cold and angry that Raven had not come sooner. The Titans exchanged no more words, but got in the T-car and took off.  
  
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Raventhedarkgoddess: Okay, there is chapter one. Not nearly as funny as my other ones, but this one isn't meant as humor.  
  
Robin: Well, at least that means I don't have to worry about Raven getting SUGAR HIGH!  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: So, should I keep going? Reveiw and let me know what you think, please. 


	2. Hook, Line, and Sinker

Raventhedarkgoddess: Now that I've found out that there are people that like this one, I decided to write chapter two. I want to thank all the reveiwers. Now, I still don't own Teen Titans or anything else that is in this fic, only my OC and the plotline.  
  
Robin: Well, that's good.  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: Please review! Now, here's chapter two.  
  
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Chapter 2: Hook, Line, And Sinker  
  
Arriving at their destination, all six Titans srambled up onto the rooftop, where Lecita stood. "Hello, Titans." Lecita tried to act like her favorite villains, cold and inimating. She relised that it wasn't easy to act supioior, partcually when surrounded by six well-armed, angry teenagers who were only a year younger than her and twice as powerful.  
  
"Let's not waste our time talking," Raven muttered to Robin. "I really just want to bag a villan and go home." Robin nodded and tried to read the expression on Raven's face. Raven noticed him, but decided to say nothing.  
  
"I have something I wish to say to you, Raven." Starfire took Raven's arm and lead her behind the head line of battle. Her eyes glowed with a pride that made Raven wonder if she was about to recite the poem of Graditude all over again.  
  
"Um, Star, please, the battlefield isn't the best place for a converstaion," Raven said quietly, fighting a surge of panic. What will we do, she thought, if we get caught out here?  
  
"I am wishing for you to have this, so that you may think of me as you fight." Starfire handed Raven the pendent, the one with the little blue stone Robin had given her. Raven hooked it around her own neck, fingers trembling slightly because Starfire made her feel really accepted. Maybe, she thought to herself, I finally fit in somewhere.  
  
"Are you two coming or not?" Terra, dodging a thrown knife, gave both of them an insistent look. Both girls exchanged one last smile and a nod and lept into their usual fury of action. Cyborg's rays, while doing little damage to they're intended target, lit the small roof that had become the center of harsh activity.  
  
Lecita weaved back and forth among the intended weapons. Who has the goddamn pendent?, Lecita thought. Flipping towards the blonde, Lectia looked for the pendent. A rock, however, caught her squarly in the side of the face. "Got ya!" Terra smiled, still ready to throw Lecita back to the ground if nessicary.  
  
Lectia rubbed the side of her head. A little blood came out, but nothing she couldn't manage later. Terra had planted herself firmly above Lectia, and Lectia could plainly see she wore no pendent. She quickly rolled back, swinging both legs so that they forced Terra's legs out from under her. "Whoa, what the hell...!" Terra fell flat on the ground. Lecita, about five feet away, pulled herself to her feet.   
  
Cyborg ran in on her. What, he mussed to himself, is the deal with this girl? She won't try to get away, she just keeps fighting...Could she be after someone? "Cyborg," yelled an irritated Robin, "Pay attention!" Cyborg jumped, then blushed. He quickly resumed targeting the girl, but focused this time, trying not to let his thoughts wander again.   
  
Starfire targeted Lecita from above, but moved very quickly. "Stop her from moving, fool," Lecita snapped at herself. Great, she thought, now they think I'm a theif and a pcycho.  
  
"I am asking you nicly to quit," Starife said, dodging Lecita's movements. "I assume you are not going to listen to nice talking." Starbolts joined the gang's attacks, but Starfire leaned down to hit Lecita, which proved ill just a second later.  
  
"No, guess I'm not." Lecita, still nervous, grabbed Starfire's leg and twisted. starfire, given no other option, screamed and fell in mid-flight, landing on her injured leg. Lecita wanted to throw out a little laugh, but that was so cold, almost inhuman. She gave herself a mental slap.  
  
Suddenly, she flet her body slamed into by a large green rhino. The rhino became a boy, still green, but a boy. "Just come with us. It doesn't have to be this way." he streched out his hand, but Lecita removed her hand-combat knife and slashed him. Cursing in a way Lecita hadn't heard in a long time, Beast Boy staggered over and slumped down beside Starfire. Now Lecita could see the girl clearly. All those injuries, she thought, because Slade wants Robin to work for him? Lecita almost felt guily, working for Slade, until a black energy ball slammed her in the back.  
  
"Don't hurt them!" The third female member of the Teen Titans heard her own voice shake. But with what?, she wondered. Anger, fear...hate? "Just come quietly, with me."  
  
Lecita opened her own mouth, ready to agree, when she spotted the girl's necklace. A little blue stone, she thought. I'm close, so why give up? "Never!", She retorted sharply. Another rock rammed her at this, but what was a little pain for the cash?  
  
The four Titans who had not been hurt rushed in on her. Robin kicked her right in the side, causing her to curse loudly. Dodging rocks, she stood back up and faced them. That blonde, she thought, just needs to be distracted. So, Lecita opened her mouth and was shocked by her own words. "You're friends are going to die," she said, poising the knife above Beast Boy. This had the desired effect on Terra, who lunged in and knocked Lecita flat.  
  
Standing definatly in front of Beast Boy and Starfire, Terra yelled, "Don't touch them!" She remianed standing there. Three down, Lecita thought, three more to take care of. Terra turned her back on the battle and began to tend to Beast Boy and Starfire.  
  
Cyborg rushed in again, trying not to lose his concenation. He succeded in shooting Lecita's arm, but the girl got right back up. "Doesn't she give up?", he muttered. Lecita flipped behind him and did what all villans knew to do to Cyborg: Hacked the system and threw him in a heap next to this friends.  
  
Only Raven and Robin remained on their feet. Instead of talking, which Robin knew Raven would not want to risk, he just looked at her and she nodded. This was a thing that Titans were supposed to do if they were uncertian about how to go on. They just looked at another Titan, and if they agreed just to go all out, they nodded.   
  
Robin jumped in on Lecita in a hand-to-hand combat. Robin kicked her leg, causing a bit of blood. By now, Lecita and Robin were both well worn, so when Lecita grabbed her knife, Robin really had no time to react. It caught him in the side, and, off-guard, he fell.  
  
Raven, the only remaining Titan, saw Lecita coming toward her. Lecita did not, however, harm her, but grabbed her arm roughly. Instead of speaking, she dragged Raven. Raven began trying to break away. "You don't want your friends to get hurt, do you?" Raven stopped struggling and shook her head vigorusly.  
  
"I didn't think so." Lecita came to her car. "Get in," She commanded, but the tone was surprisingly gentle. Raven, bewildered and more than a little scared, climbed in, listening to the villian cursing as she scrambled up front. The radio filled the car, and Raven wondered why only she had been spared.  
  
"Are you alright, my friends?" Starfire sat up, grimacing at the pain in her leg. Four voices said yes, but they were all staring at the direction Raven and Lecita had gone in.  
  
"What made her stop struggling, I wonder?" Cyborg asked this aloud, without relising that he'd done so. Everyone else agreed.  
  
"Well, what are you guys waiting for? She's hurt, and probably scared..." Four sets of eyes met his, and each face was full of a look that said 'Are you JOKING?'  
  
"Um, dude..." Beast Boy inicated his bleeding palm, Starfire's leg, and Cyborg's inabliity to move. "And you don't look so good either." Robin felt his side, then noticed that blood came from a gash on his forehead. The only one that had escaped real injury was Terra.  
  
"Robin, what's more important? We've got a whole team, and we're fully capable without her." This was met with outrage.  
  
"Terra, I do not know where you have learned about friendship, but we will find Raven!" Starfire glared at her, a harsh glare that seemed to be laced with pain.  
  
"Okay, okay, SORRY!" Terra flipped her hair back. Last time I defend her life, Terra thought miserably.  
  
"We do have to go home first, though." So, Robin lead his team back to the car. No one rode shotgun this time, though. So, as they drove along in silence, they all felt the loss of Raven. They could feel her, but she wasn't there. And robin, almost unwittingly, found himself miserable about this. It was, in fact, worse than when Star disapered...  
  
"Yo, Robin, quit sittin' in the car. Come in, get cleaned up, then get some sleep. We can go out in the morning, man." Cyborg and Robin walked back into the Tower, Robin feeling like this was a personal insult, and he had fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker.  
  
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Raventhedarkgoddess: Well, chapter two.  
  
Cyborg: Interseting.  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: Well, reveiw, please. ^_^ 


	3. Feelings

Raventhedarkgoddess: I decided to put up chapter three.  
  
Terra: You update too fast.  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: No one wants to listen to betraying little twerps, Terra.  
  
Terra: Why you...!  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: While I sort this out, here's chapter three.  
  
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Chapter Three: Feelings  
  
Raven, hands now bound, was being shoved in front of Lecita. Lecita gripped her arm much harder than she might have any other time. After all, she thought, if she gets away, I won't get the money, and Anna will...Calling herself from her thoughts, Lecita wrenched open a door and pushed Raven inside.  
  
Raven fell to her knees and heard the door slam. Raven got up slowly, fighting not to topple over due to the fact that she could no longer use her hands. Raven tried to undo the knot with her mind, only to find that she couldn't. Cursing Lecita and whoever had employed her, Raven stood in front of the door, trying in vain to hear any clue as to where she was.  
  
Well out of Raven's range of hearing, Slade was performing a nervous pace. Lecita should be back by now, he thought. Would Starfire really have given her that much trouble? Slade began to curse his rotton luck, but the door behind him burst open.  
  
"Sorry, Slade!" Lecita stood there, panting. Brushing her hair off her forehead, she straightened up and tried to look busnuess-like. After all, if she was going to get paided, she had to pretend she wasn't petrified of how poor a job she'd done.   
  
"I'm assuming it all went like I planned," Slade said calmly. The girl's wide eyes and terrified manner led him to belive that something was wrong, but waited for her to explain.  
  
"Girl...In the room...About my payment...", Lecita gasped out. Slade dismissed her babble with a wave of his hand.  
  
"You have her? Good, then I'll be calling Titan Tower right now." As Slade hooked up the video-phone, Lecita watched him, shocked. He hadn't even demanded to see her. Was he just going to pay her? But what if...  
  
Miles away at Titan Tower, Robin lay in bed. He was not sleeping, though. Raven...Her face, her voice, every word she'd said to him lately...They all floated into his head. That fatal nod...The way she quit struggling agenst Lecita...What had been the whispered word to make her quit?  
  
"ROBIN!" A very irritated Beast Boy was ready to kick the door in. "CALL FROM SLADE ON THE VIDEO PHONE! ARE YOU COMING?" The changling crossed both arms and sighed loudly. Robin, fully dressed and angry, unlocked the door and ran downstairs.  
  
Terra stood there at the foot of the steps, complaining loudly. "Robin, can the goddamn villans not call us so early? And Slade, too. Why?" Her hair was mangled and her eyes tired, but she looked out of place among the rest of the team. Everyone else looked so worried and worn, but Terra looked irritated and shrew.  
  
"Terra, could you at least ACT like you care about Raven?" Cyborg moved forward, looking very angry.   
  
"I do! I'm just trying to give us something else to think about, and everyone BITES my head off!" Terra flipped her hair back and sat, turning her back to Cyborg, who muttered a string of curses under his breath.  
  
"Robin." Slade had been using his adavantage of being there to find out what was eating the Titans apart. Between Terra and Raven's disaperence, they were destorying themselves. "Miss your girlfriend?"  
  
Starfire stepped forward. "I am right here! Whatever do you mean?" Her eyes lit in green fury.  
  
Slade swore under his breath. "Stupid girl. So, I must have Raven, correct? Then I have nothing to barter. I shall dispose of her and..."  
  
"NO!" Robin jumped forward. "What do you mean, dispose? Don't you dare touch her! I'll come after you! Name your price!" Robin's shoulders heaved and his voice subsided.  
  
"Titans are loyal, I assume. Then, my price is for you to quit and join me, and never speak to the other Titans as long as you are alive and in my service." Slade gave Robin a cold look, thinking about what he was going to say to Lecita in a minute.  
  
"Robin, are you going to give up?" Beast Boy looked at him inquisivly.  
  
"Now, Robin, no need to decide right now," Slade said with a smirk. "You have fourty-eight hours until I harm the girl. Good night, Titans." Slade's face disapered.  
  
"That jackass!" Robin's face was taunt and angry, full of a hate even he didn't understand.  
  
"So, what can we do, ya'll?" Cyborg seached every face for answers, but only Terra didn't look confused or really upset.  
  
"Bust our asses looking! If we can find and help her, then Raven will be safe!" Since when is Raven the only thing on your mind?, the sly voice in his head asked him. I'll just concerned, he snapped back.  
  
"...four am," Terra whined. "Right, Robin?"  
  
"Huh?" Robin blinked stupidly. "What, Terra?" Wrapped up in his own thoughts, Robin hadn't heard a word Terra said.  
  
"I said, we'll search later. I mean, come on, it's four am." She gave Cyborg a look, indicating she'd been arguing with him.  
  
Hours are ticking away, Robin thought. And Raven, in danger of Slade's wrath..."Is everyone feeling well enough that they could go out again?", He asked. When met with nods from everyone but Terra, he said,"Then let's go out and find Raven."  
  
"Let us not have a grand dispute with Slade. Let us go in and out, without argument," Starfire said evenly. Robin sighed mentaly. He wanted to hurt Slade, he relised. He wanted to hurt him badly.  
  
"Let's just go already," Terra groaned. So, without speaking, the five Titans went out to the car, Robin still thinking. If I love Starfire, he thought, and Raven is just a teammate, then why do I have these feelings? And, he thought, why do they run...Is it possible they run deeper than those for Star? Shaking his head, Robin climbed in and the car sped off into the rising sun.  
  
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Raventhedarkgoddess: Okay, please reveiw. I'm having some mild writers block right now. I'll try to update soon. 


	4. Misguided

Raventhedarkgoddess: Chapter four.  
  
Terra: Why do you bother?  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: No one cares what you think.   
  
Terra: How do you know?  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: I won't even answer her. Please read and review. ^_^ I get over writer's block fairly quickly.  
  
Terra: Oh, great.  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: Also, note to Libby: Read chapter seven of Sugar. You'll like it. (You're in it, as Robin's 'friend')  
  
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Chapter Four: Misguided  
  
Slade litterly stormed over to where Lecita sat. "You," he muttered, "Can't you do anything right?" His eyes locked with hers, and he saw that, even though she still feared him, she would make a stand all the same.  
  
"Your instuctions," Lecita said evenly, to keep her voice from breaking, "Were te capture the girl in posestion of the pendent. I have done that. You will pay me, understood?" Lecita quickly bit her tounge. Your sister, she thought bitterly, is counting on that money. Don't make a scene, just get out of here.  
  
"Let me see the captured girl," Slade demanded, his tone heavy and flat, so that he conceled his strong desire to punch something. Patience, Slade's father had said to Slade countless times. Now it was a word Slade used himself.   
  
Meanwhile, the five teenage heros wandered around on the rooftop aimlessly. They couldn't find the least bit of a trace of either girl, or a clue to their wearabouts. "Come on, Robin. Give it up, at least till tonight." Terra was being her usual self, trying to get Robin to quit early.  
  
Shoulders hunched as if he was about to be struck, Robin muttered, "Fine. Home. We can't wander around all day. We need to be ready to leave be eight tonight. Let's go, team." All the others stared, but Terra just yawned and shrugged.  
  
"Robin, were you harmed during the battle?" Starfire sat next to him, looking concerened. Robin didn't give up this easily normally. What was bothering him? In hopes of making him feel better, Starfire gave him a little hug.  
  
"No, I'm fine." Robin was having a feeling he couldn't explain again. He was being held by Starfire, but all he could think about was Raven. Somewhere, possibly hurt, locked up and in the line of Slade's fury..."Um, Star, let's just go home."   
  
"Dude, are you feeling okay?" Beast Boy stared at him with the same form of worry as everyone else. "I mean, that's twice in a row you want us to quit early!"  
  
"I'm FINE!" Robin relised how sharp he sounded, but he really didn't care. "Can we just go?"   
  
Fine by me, Terra thought. When I agreed to do this for Slade, Terra thought, I didn't relise he was asking me to give up my sleep. "Great," She said cheerfully. No one else really made any comment, just climbed into the car again, the same heavy misery hanging over the group as they made their sluggish way home.  
  
Slade wanted to slam the door down, but unlocked it with shaking fingers. Lecita followed in his furious wake, looking terrified. If Slade decided not to pay her, then her sister and life was history. "YOU!" Slade roared loudly at Raven.  
  
Raven had been sitting on the corner of the bed, looking around the room. She was lost in confused thought, and jumped as Slade opened the door and began yelling. "Me what?"  
  
Calm down, Slade thought, don't kill her. He could tell Raven to join him or die, but not only would she pick death, but that would hurt Robin less. She's strong, he thought, but a pcyshic was what killed my mother. A male, but still a pcyshic, and Slade couldn't bring himself to work alongside the vile kind, not ever. "How in God's name did YOU get that pendent?" Slade narrowed both eyes in a glare, wishing he could kill both girls and end his headache,  
  
"Star...She promised me we'd be friends and gave me this." Raven stared him in the eyes. She sensed an underlying tension between Lecita and Slade, demrmination from Lectia and fury from Slade.  
  
"Friends...What makes you think you have FRIENDS?" Slade sneered. If he could play up on the fear he knew she had of losing her friends, she would lay down and die, and he could use the sound of her tears on Robin to make him give up. People, he thought with a grin, are so easy to manipulate.  
  
"Friends...That word must not be in your vocabualry. Friends are people who will stand for me, the Titans are my friends! Slade, they love me. They acually care about me! You don't have a heart, so you could never understand!" Raven stood up, yelling in Slade's face.  
  
"Nothing, Raven. They care about nothing, you least of all! They'll leave you here to rot and die!" With that, he spun around to face a white-faced, silent Lecita. "Untie the hands of the girl, take your goddamn money, and get the hell out of my sight!"  
  
Lecita moved over and undid the rope around Raven's wrists. Raven was not done, though. "THEY CARE!" Raven could feel her temper slipping out of control.  
  
"They don't care," Slade muttered. "They never will, understood?" Raven lost control then and there. She let out a shriek and releesed a powerful blast that knocked Slade onto his back. "Stupid girl," he snapped. Standing up, he stormed from the room. Lecita picked up her money and ran out of the door. She threw her hand up just as the door almost slamed her in the side of her head. I'll show Slade, Lecita promised herself.  
  
Raven flung herself down onto the small hard bed. Misery welled up inside her, and she felt her eyes tear over. She thought of her friends faces. Beast Boy, falling on the floor earlier, filled her mind, complete with the nervous little laugh he had given. Cyborg, when she'd last talked to him, helping him buff the T car in the garage...What had they been talking about? Oh, ya, what an idiot Terra was. Starfire, and the pendent passing that had occured on the roof...And Robin, and how concerned he'd been...His face burned clearly in her head. Was it possible that they would just leave her to rot? Could they not care that much? And Robin...What if she never say him again?  
  
With that thought, Raven did one thing she hadn't done in years: Broke down and began to sob, her head in her arms. "My friends...", She muttered out loud. Slade's words echoed through her head: They don't care, they never will. Raven could feel things flying past her head, but who was here to see her, and who cared anyway? Raven hadn't cried this much in years, but as she sobbed now, Raven felt that she might never quit. She had been mislead, and it cut deep.  
  
Outside her door, Slade laughed and switched off his tape recorder. He held out the tape and slid it into a computerized message to send to Robin. I'll get him, Slade thought. And, with a little laugh, Slade headed down the hall.  
  
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Raventhedarkgoddess: Hey, no one ever said this was going to be my happiest fic.  
  
Terra: No shit.  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: Shut up, Terra. No one cares. Okay, review, and I'll try to get this story out of it's unhappy state soon. 


	5. Another Loss

Raventhedarkgoddess: Okay, I think I'm ready to write another chapter.  
  
Terra: So what? Who cares, anyway?  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: The reviewers, dummy. Keep reveiwing. You guys are great. ^_^ And, without further adue, here's chapter five.  
  
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Chapter Five: Another Loss  
  
Robin wandered into the door, feeling sad and a little lost for the first time since he and the other Titans had moved into the tower. Normally, after a long battle, Raven and Starfire would be walking along ahead of him, talking and smiling. The lack of Raven standing in front of him and Starfire's sad, forlorn face only made him more upset than normal. Saying vague goodnights to the others, Robin walked up the stairs to his bedroom.  
  
Robin flung himself lifelessly in front of his computer and clicked the internet explorer icon on his desktop. Robin had no idea what he was actually going to do, but he knew he couldn't sleep now. I'll just check my mail and listen to some music, the defeated teen thought. Up here, his gloomy thoughts and face couldn't affect the rest of the team. They were upset enough without him wrecking their moods.  
  
"Huh?" Robin spotted a strange address among the names on his e-mail. The instant it was open, Robin heard the sounds of a female crying. No, Robin realized, not crying. Sobbing. And then a few whispered words. He recognized the voice almost imidiatly. Raven.  
  
Robin slammed the delete key on his keyboard, but the sound had cut his heart like a knife. "What did he do to her?" Robin muttered aloud. Raven never cried, and now he'd heard her sobbing...If I find him, Robin vowed, I'm going to kick his ass.   
  
Defensive about the little bird, aren't you? That annoying, nagging voice was back again. You know what, he silently shot back, maybe I like her. What's it to you? Then Robin turned and hit his head off the wall. No, this was all wrong. He liked STARFIRE, not Raven. Raven was just a teammate. It was natural to feel this concerned, right?  
  
Wrong. Robin wouldn't admit it, but he knew he had fallen for Raven. Logging offline, Robin decided to go do a sweep of the city by himself. Getting up, Robin walked silently down the hall, mounted his motorcycle, and sped off into the night.  
  
Starfire, her hair over the edge of her bed, heard footsteps in the hall outside her bedroom. Perhaps, she thought, one of the other Titans is still awake and would wish to talk to me. Starfire got up and followed the person down the hall.  
  
It was Robin, but something in the way he stood told her to back off. Throwing on his helmet, Robin climbed aboard the motorcycle. Starfire decided to follow Robin. Although it was the middle of the day, Robin was as tired as the rest of them and Starfire felt he might need assistance.  
  
Robin had the feeling he was being watched, but every time he turned around, saw nothing. so, shrugging, Robin decided to check out the nearest building. He was in the part of town that Terra had checked yesterday, and Robin decided that she was the most likely to have missed something. Or, he thought with fury, she didn't check at all.  
  
Robin walked in and recognized the layout. The same one haunted him in his dreams at night. This was, without a doubt, Slade's new lair. And, he thought triumphantly, if I find Slade, then Raven is around.   
  
Starfire decided she may as well go in after Robin. Leaning on the wall wasn't helping, and Robin could need help. So, without thinking of the dangers, Starfire ran in after Robin.  
  
Robin looked around the dimly lit room. Not a soul in sight, Robin thought. He edged forward warily, carefully looking for any traps. Starfire followed quietly behind him, wondering if she should let Robin know she was here. Suddenly, a large hand caught around her mouth and she was dragged away.  
  
Robin heard a noise and wheeled around, but could still see nothing. Cursing the dim light, Robin kept edging forward.  
  
Raven lay on her bed, many hours after her breakdown. She'd cried herself into a heavy sleep and woken up with a pounding head. No more crying, she thought. I've got to get out of here. Each time, however, she tried to use her powers, the blast was usually deflected at her head. The whole room, between her tears and attempts, was in a chaotic state.  
  
Without warning, the door unlocked and slammed into the wall. Fury welled up in Raven as she saw who it was. Slade stood there, and grabbed her wrist. "Robin's here," Slade said, but he said it with a chuckle that made Raven feel something was really wrong. Raven got up and followed, her mind jumping at the thought of Robin. Had he come for her?  
  
Robin stepped into the center of the large room, glancing around. "Hello, Robin." Slade looked at him with a sense of glee in his eyes. "Giving up?"  
  
"Not on your life!" Robin stared boldly ahead, daring Slade to challenge him.  
  
"Fine." Slade snapped his fingers, and a swarm of robots that looked identical to the real Slade came out. One, Robin realized with a pang, was holding onto the wrist of Starfire.  
  
Robin began his usual routine. Flip, kick, take down two...The one holding Starfire was evading his blows. Robin, as he ducked low, noticed that Slade was sitting down, next to..."Raven!"   
  
"Help!" Starfire was being dragged now, toward the door. Robin looked from one girl to the other. Raven was stuck here with Slade, and Starfire was being taken...Raven or Star...Robin made the move toward Raven, but then Starfire screamed. turning almost in mid-jump, Robin ran toward Starfire.  
  
Raven watched him, with almost all of her hope dying. She had thought, for one fleeting second, that Robin might care about her more than anyone else, and then he'd turned around. Slade grabbed her wrist. "Go and stand in the back hall. Do so or you will die." Raven did as she was told.  
  
Robin wheeled back around, Starfire behind him, to face Slade. "Let Raven go!" Starfire and Robin readied their weapons. Slade just reached over and hit the self-destruct button on his computer.  
  
"I don't think so. Twenty-four more hours, Robin!" Slade ran into the back hallway, only to find Raven waiting. She did not look at him or speak at all as they left the burning building.  
  
Starfire tugged on Robin's arm. "We must go now, Robin." He was staring at the platform where Slade and Raven had been, mouth open and eyes sad. "Robin!" Starfire grabbed his shirt and flew out, the two of them leaving just before the building collapsed. "You have almost gotten us both killed!"  
  
"Sorry, Star. Why did you follow me, anyway?" Robin felt a small bit of rage at her. If she hadn't followed, or at least hadn't screamed, Raven would be out of Slade's hands. And maybe, added that sly voice, she wouldn't hate you now.  
  
"I am sorry, Robin." Starfire looked at him, hard. Robin stared back into her eyes, but for him, they no longer held warmth and love. He didn't understand it, except for the fact that Starfire couldn't be his girlfriend anymore. Now he understood it. He felt like he'd hurt himself, leaving Raven. He really did like her.  
  
"Come on, Star." So, both of them climbing onto the motorcycle, they headed home while the building burnt to bits behind them. He had just, thanks to Slade, suffered another loss, and could really kill him for it.  
  
Somewhere across town, Lecita saw the building burn. That meant the Titans had invaded him, and he'd be moving to his new lair. Lecita wondered how she could tell Slade that she was mad. And then the idea hit her. All I have to do, she thought, is tell the Titans where his lair is. And so, in the dying sun, Lecita threw her cloak on and headed for Titan Tower.  
  
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Raventhedarkgoddess: Okay, chapter five.  
  
Terra: Why? Who cares?  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: I told you, they do and I do. Please review. Hey, I'm a poet who don't know it.  
  
Terra: She's hopeless. 


	6. One Simple Action

Raventhedarkgoddess: I think I'll work on chapter six.  
  
Terra: You are just kidding, right?  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: Um...no?  
  
Terra: You are one weird person.  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: Thanks for noticing. Read and review. I also want to say I'm sorry that this story is laced with typing errors, but there's nothing I can do about it.  
  
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Chapter Six: One Simple Action  
  
Robin sat in the living room, eyes lifeless. Behind this quiet manor, however, he seeped with fury. This fury was aimed at Slade, at himself, and at the world in general. Terra and Beast Boy were engadged in a video game match, and he felt a little fustrated with the whole team. They had inisted that he relax, after hearing what had happened from Star.  
  
Robin was restless. He didn't want to relax, but the others wouldn't come with him until it was dark outside. Eight o' clock, he thought bitterly. That's an hour away. And one less hour could be the difference between her life and my freedom. Robin traced this back to it's source and even resented Starfire. First off, it was her they were after. And then she'd handed Raven that necklace and gotton her kidnapped...Raven might even be here right now if she hadn't followed him. Robin's head slipped sidways and he fell asleep.  
  
Lecita saw the building up ahead. Why, nagged a little voice in her head, are you doing this again? Because, she snapped in the same tone of voice, I caused them problems in my haste to fix my own. They're friend is suffering, the wrong friend, even. I want to help. Just because I worked for Slade didn't mean I liked him. And, added the voice, you need help finding your sister.   
  
Fine, maybe I do. Lecita knocked on the door, hard. Maybe they're asleep, she thought quietly. Just then, the door swung open and Starfire poked her head out the door. "It is you!" Starfire looked at Lecita as if she was repused. "What harm are you wishing to bring to us this time?"   
  
Robin jerked upright. Starfire was yelling again. Getting up, mind unclear from sleep, Robin flattened his hair and staggered to the door. He was shocked to see the black wearing, pale-faced teen, hood down, standing in the doorway. "YOU," he spat at her. "What do you want?"  
  
Lecita knew they were going to be like this. After all, they regared her as evil now. She was trash, garbage in their lives. "I want to help you find your friend." Robin's eyebrows went up criticly, and Starfire seemed to hesitate. The others came over and joined the staring crowd.  
  
"Give me your knives," Robin muttered in a supicious voice. Lecita fished one from her pocket and handed it to them. The other had been lost eariler as she flee the rooftop. "Happy now?"  
  
"Come in," Cyborg muttered. Lecita sat down on the very edge of their couch. She glanced around nervously. The Titans, for the fight they put up, had a nice house.  
  
"I guess I'll just start at the begening. I'm not looking for you guys to pity me, but I want to you to understand how I know what I know." And with that, she lanched into the tale of her life. She'd been born in the small town of Juhabia, a little town outside of a city in West Virgina. Daugther of a hunter, she'd become an expert archer and knife thrower. Her mother died giving birth to her younger sister, Anna. When she was fourteen and Anna was twelve, her father had tried to drive home drunk and landed in a ditch, dead by the morning.  
  
And so life had changed forever. Now orphans with no family, the two girls had been sent to a foster home. Anna and Lecita had been rebals, and so they were split up. At age sixteen, Lecita had run away and began looking for her sister. She met Slade in an ally one night and he had offered her money. The amont was enough to find and care for her sister forever. She had agreed, and here she was now, telling them the tale of her life. "That's it," she conculded lamly.  
  
"I am sorry to hear about your life," Starfire said softly. The fact that she was ready to kill for money was a little creapy, but it made sense. The fact that she had been ready to kidnap Starfire really creeped her out, but she said nothing else about it.  
  
"So, are you guys going to come with me to see Raven? He told me about his backup plan, his lair." Lecita fixed them all with a stare. Come on, she pleaded silently. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't help them out of this mess.  
  
"Fine." Robin said the one word without hesitation, causing everyone else to look at him as if he were insane. Robin, the team's cautious leader, had suddenly turned his own world upsidedown in order to find Raven. "Dude, are you SURE you're okay?" Beast Boy asked.  
  
"Then follow me," Lecita said gently. She didn't know why, but she kind of liked this group. Sure, they were weird and they had hurt her, but they had commpation for their friend. And she felt ready to help them, no matter what.  
  
"Robin's gone just a little crazy, huh?" Cyborg said to Beast Boy. Beast Boy nodded in agreement. "I mean, come on! He let's us take the night off, then he has us follow our enemy!" Beast Boy nodded again.  
  
"God, she isn't that important. You all go on and on...Raven this, Raven that. What if she's hurt? What if...? You worry too much! All of you! We're fine without her! Look, just look! You are fine!" Terra yelled at them loudly. Slade was right when he said their friendship was going to be their downfall.  
  
"She's more than that! Raven is one of the most sensitive, loyal people I have ever met! Whatever your deal is, I don't like it! Just shut your face!" Beast Boy threatend Terra.  
  
"Come on! Raven is just another team member! We can be the Titans without her!" Terra shouted back.  
  
"No we cannot. You, Terra, understand nothing. I do not know who's side you are on, but it is not ours!" Starfire glared at her.  
  
"Now that you've wrecked our lives, get lost!" Cyborg pointed the blaster ray at her face. "Just go away!" Terra stepped back.  
  
"Fine, I will! You'll see me again soon, and you'll know I'm right!" Terra threw her hair back, spun around, and walked away from the team, headed home to Slade.  
  
Lecita stared at what had just happened. "She's really mean about your friend. One of the things I did to make my life easy was tell her that...and I feel really bad about this...Was that you guys would die if she hurt me. She just stopped trying to hurt me, didn't even try to struggle. She really cares about you guys. That Terra girl didn't know her that well."  
  
"You're right. She didn't." Robin stared after Terra in fury. He seemed to have an endless suply of fury these days. "Well, let's go find Raven." Without another word, everyone seeping with fustration at Terra, the four friends and Lecita headed off into the night. It was amazing how one simple action could complicate a life so much, thought Robin. Just by lunging for Starfire instead of Raven, he now felt guilty and Terra had left them. Not that I care about that, he thought. And Lecita started running ahead, the others following her along a winding street under the setting sun.  
  
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Raventhedarkgoddess: That's chapter six.  
  
Terra: YOU are so out of line.  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: And you are an evil person who needs to be smacked. *smacks Terra*  
  
Terra: Ow!  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: Please reveiw, and I'll work on another chapter.  
  
Terra: You little.....! 


	7. Talk to an Angel

Raventhedarkgoddess: I'm working on chapter seven already? Oh, well.  
  
Terra: God, just get on with your freakin' story.   
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: Get lost, Terra. Thanks for the reviews, people. Now, here's chapter seven.  
  
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Chapter Seven: Talk to an Angel  
  
Lecita wandered along, running slowly with the Titans in pursute. She didn't mind them, but Robin was glaring at her. Lecita felt extremly nervous and a little annoyed at the fact that he seemed to still hate her. "Here we are," she annonced to them, turning a corner into a narrow, shadowy alleyway.  
  
"Good." Robin moved forward. They were a little under ten hours away from the final choice, and Robin wanted to get to Raven. I have to tell her how sorry I am, he thought. She'll still hate me, though.   
  
"Come on, man." Cyborg grabbed his arm and yanked him roughly inside the building. Robin found they were standing in the same lair as last night, only the room was different. No signs of life were anywhere.  
  
If Robin had thought to try the door, he would have found out that Raven was calmly meditating behind it. She had long since exshasted herself trying to get out, and was now trying to clear her mind. She thought she heard the voices of her friends, but told herself she was hearing things.   
  
"He'll be out soon. Let's try to find your friend," Lecita suggested. Everyone nodded and split up. Robin and Starfire went in one direction, Beast Boy in another. Cyborg went toward the back of the room, and Lecita jumped up into the rafters.   
  
Robin wandered towards a corner, unaware that he was being watched. Slade and Terra looked down on him, Slade grinning slightly. "Go," he whispered to Terra. Terra threw a couple rocks at the back of his head. "Bullseye!"  
  
"You little..." Robin glared at her, then noticed that she was standing next to Slade. "Where is Raven?" Robin jumped up toward the rafters.  
  
"Your friend is still unharmed. Have you come to join me? Only eight hours remain, after all." Slade looked at him hard. What is he thinking?  
  
Lecita came up behind Slade and Terra. She was about to do the only thing that made sense: She leaned over and shoved them onto the floor. Jumping down after them, she declared, "Slade, this is the only thing I have to say to you. I hope you're happy, because I'm not on your side anymore!"  
  
The others came running over at the sight of Terra and Slade falling from the rafters. Terra stood up and yelled, "Lecita, do you think we need you? I mean, of all the groups for you to join when you left us, the Titans?" Slade got up too, and the two of them readied for a fight.  
  
"It doesn't have to be this way. Terra, I really thought you cared about me!" Beast Boy looked at her with hurt in his eyes. "Just tell us where Raven is, and we can forget this without hurting anyone."  
  
"You thought Terra cared?" Slade laughed. "Beast Boy, Terra has been my friend from the start. She was messing with your mind, she told me so. She never liked you."   
  
"Slade helped me control my powers. You just laughed. In truth, Raven was the only one who saw me for what I was. But she's not among you anymore, now is she?" Terra looked around, her eyes wild with the power she had at the metion of Raven.  
  
Robin lost the calm and reason he had, and jumped at Terra. He managed to kick her, hard, in the side. Terra fell, startled. "Robin, come after me, if you really miss your friend at all. After all, it's my fault, isn't it?" In answer, the four remaining team members all struck him with various powers. Terra got back up, and the feild turned into a free-for-all.  
  
Lecita abandoned the battle and headed to a door she'd seen. She kicked it, but it was locked. She fingered the lockpick in her pocket and started to work on the door. A loud voice told her she had to get back, though, so she ran into the main room.  
  
The Titans had managed to shove Terra into a corner, and Cyborg was covering her. The other three were having a hard time getting Slade to go down. "Lecita," Robin hollored, "go find Raven!" She took this as a reason not to battle and left again. She got the door to click open, and found the girl meditating in the middle of the room. "Raven?" She asked.  
  
Raven opened one eye. "Hello, Lecita. Are you here to bug me?" She looked at her carfully.  
  
"No, Raven. Your friends are here, they need you help them fight. Please, come on. I'm not with Slade anymore!" Lecita looked at her, silently praying again.  
  
Raven dropped to the floor and stood up. "My friends..." She ran out the door, Lecita following her. The two of them found out that Beast Boy had been taken out of the battle, and Robin and Starfire weren't working so well together. The two girls ran in.  
  
Slade was hit from behind and fell over. Robin watched in wonder, because only one person could have caused that black energy ball. Raven stood there, glaring at her fallen enemy. Robin and Lecita lunged in at the same time, hurting their foe.  
  
"Curses upon you. All of you will fall to me, soon. Lecita, you are a meddlesome fool. Titans, shelter her and all will die. I will not rest until Robin serves me!" Slade self-destucted his lair yet again, grabbing Terra's wrist. Terra laughed and the two of them, the most evil people in the lives of all the Titans.  
  
"Let's go home," Raven said. The group ran outside and watched another building burn to the ground. "He sure likes fire," Beast Boy commented.  
  
"Yes, he does." Raven looked at them all, her friends. They'd been willing to come back for her. That was enough for her. "Thank you, you guys."  
  
"We are most glad to see you are safe," Starfire said quietly.   
  
"Look, Raven, about what happened before..." Robin began trying to explain it to her. At that moment, though, Cyborg cut him off.  
  
"Raven, can we go to the pizza joint?" Cyborg asked hopefully. Robin seeped with fustration. He was trying to tell Raven how he felt, and all Cy was worried about was pizza?  
  
"If it's okay with you, I'd rather go home." Raven was a mess, dirt clinging to her hair and her cloak torn. The others agreed home was fine, but Raven insisted that Lecita come.  
  
"Your sister...We'll help you find her." Lecita opened her eyes in shock. How did Raven know about her sister, and that she wanted help finding her? Lecita accepted the help.  
  
Robin sighed. The price to pay had been great, but now it felt even greater. There she was, but he just couldn't tell her yet. She has a heart of gold, he thought. She wants to help Lecita. Then he had an idea. If he were the one to rescue Lecita's sister, maybe she would see him as a good guy. Maybe she'll even like me, he thought. Looking at her, Robin wanted to know how he was supposed to talk to an angel and tell her he loved her. They headed for the tower in peaceful silence, but the death still to come, unknown to them, was far from peaceful.  
  
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Raventhedarkgoddess: That's where I'll end chapter seven.  
  
Terra: You are so evil.  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: Speak for yourself. You're a dead girl walking.  
  
Terra: What do you mean?  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: Please review. 


	8. A Person Found

Raventhedarkgoddess: I'm sorry, everyone. I've been on probation from ff.net for the past week.  
  
Terra: Hahahahahahaha! Sucks to be you.  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: You are so dead, Terra. Now, here's chapter eight. Sorry, everyone.  
  
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Chapter Eight: A Person Found  
  
Raven sank unto the couch in the Titans living room, happy to be home. Lecita sat down next to her, both of them talking about Anna and where she had last been seen. Raven was already beginning to feel that maybe they really could find Anna. Starfire sat on Raven's other side, leaving, much to the dismay of Robin, no room for him to sit beside Raven. He sat between Beast Boy and Cyborg instead, and had to settle for a side view of Raven's face.  
  
Raven had a cup of tea in her hand, having eaten and showered when she first ran through the doors of Titan Tower. Her hair caught the light, and Robin began thinking that purple was really a great hair color. Her eyes sparkled when she looked over, and for a moment he thought she was smiling at him. In truth, she was looking past him, straight at the door. "Your sister is here...In the city."  
  
"Well, what the hell are we waiting for?" Lecita asked with a smile. "Let's go!" The six of them piled into Cyborg's car and headed off at Raven's directions. Cyborg almost missed a turn, and Raven smacked him lightly. Robin wished she could be that joking all the time, or at least that it was aimed at him when she was. He thought about telling her, then and there, but she hollered, "Left!", and Cyborg swerved so hard she hit her head off the roof.  
  
"Idiot," she muttered. "Just pull up to the curb now." Cyborg did as he was told, and Raven told him to shut off the engine. "We're here, Lecita."   
  
The apartment building before them was dingy and had ivy vines winding up the side. The front door had a single hole the size of a round bullet through it. They were in a very poor neighborhood, full of gangs and thieves. "My sister is here?" Lecita asked with a bit of shock behind her voice.  
  
Raven nodded. Lecita whispered, "Thank you, and I hope we meet up again." She started for the apartment, shoulders hunched and head ducked low.  
  
"Where are you going, friend?" Starfire stepped in front of her. "We must find and rescue your sister." She pulled Lecita back to the group, her hand on Lecita's shoulder.  
  
"This is dangerous. My sister is my problem, and I think I'd be best off if I went in there alone." Lecita looked at them. They were willing to help her, of all people, where twenty-four hours ago, they would have hurt her upon sight. Starfire had called her friend. Did she mean the whole group thought she was their friend?  
  
As if reading her mind, Raven said, "Lecita, you saved me. You need to find your sister, and I'm not leaving this building until it's all over. My friends and I are here for you. We're your friends now. Right, guys?" Everyone else nodded, Robin with wide eyes at Raven's easy job at making Lecita feel welcome.  
  
"Um, thanks. Let's go." Lecita ran that over in her mind. For the first time since her father had died, she had friends. She looked over at Raven, but she was busy checking the directory by the door. "Let's see...The Joionis family, one twenty-six. That's them, last apartment on the top floor..." While she mulled this over, Robin felt an undying respect for Raven. She was standing there, bold as brass, and promising not to leave someone who should have been her enemy. It was amazing, really. Would she ever stand up like that for me? He thought.  
  
"Dude, what is with you lately? You just stop what you're doing and stare at nothing! Are you coming?" Beast Boy was giving him a suspicious look. "Are you thinking about Star? Cy's noticed it too...Who are you thinking about?"  
  
Robin glared back at the changling. How much does he know? Robin went with, "Ya, it's just...Star and I haven't hung out much lately, and I kinda can't wait until this is all over."  
  
Raven made a motion and a growling noise as they approched. "Shut up." She was still trying to figure out if she had the right apartment or not, and Lecita stood next to her. Robin sighed. He hadn't meant to distract her. Is she still mad at me? Robin tried to read her face, but it was expressionless. "I've got it, and the door is unlocked. Let's go." They stepped into the lower hallway of the building. They all went up to the top of the steps, and Robin stepped on a creaky floorboard. "Shhhhhhhhh!" Everyone hissed at him.   
  
It was well after one o' clock in the morning, and everyone stopped to listen and make sure no one was awake in any of the surrounding apartments. "Let's go," Raven muttered finally. Lecita looked at the lock and smiled, fishing out the same pick she'd used for Raven hours before.  
  
She stood up and motioned, and the others followed her inside. "They've gone out for the night. Anna...She's here, all by herself. This is easy, Lecita." Raven stood next to her, hoping that she was of some comfort to the other girl. Robin wanted to tell Raven that she'd done a wonderful job tonight, but the words stuck in his throat, so that he could form them, but every time he tried to say them, he let out a loud, barking cough.  
  
"Robin," Starfire asked him finally, "Are you in need of medical aid?" She studied him, trying to figure out why he keep letting out such odd, bark-like noises. "Are you perhaps turning into a dog?" This set Beast Boy and Cyborg into hysterical laugher. If looks could have killed, Beast Boy and Cyborg would have dropped dead right about then. However, Raven's glare didn't come close to killing them, although it made them fall silent.  
  
"No, I'm fine, Star." Robin closed his mouth, quit trying to talk to Raven, and fought off his inward embarrassment. Ha, lover boy, the voice nagged him again. Just you wait, he told it, I'll make sure I rescue her sister so that Raven will think I'm the hero. Then he paused and relised how corrupt of a thought he had just had. They were a team, and it wasn't just about him. Raven, he thought, will like you just fine when you explain.  
  
They stepped (with Robin actually able to keep up without being stopped by his thoughts)up to a narrow door and into a narrow room that could have been an old broom closet. It was a bedroom, however, with a single dresser and a lamp, and the bed shoved into a corner. On the bed was a pale girl, about fifteen, with hair as dark as Lecita's and her eyes shut. She looked as if she had just fallen asleep, and the tears that hung in her lashes suggested that she'd been crying. A notebook, more like a diary of some sort, lay close to her head, and the pen was still in her hand. A drop had splashed the page, smudging it.  
  
Lecita moved up and cautiously touched her shoulder, while Starfire gathered up the notebook and a few clothes for her in an old duffel bag. This was her sister, who she'd searched for the last three years. The Titans found out that the room was hardly large enough for everyone, and some had to leave to avoid getting crushed. Raven and Robin went to leave, but Lecita called Raven back, claiming that she needed support. "Damn," Robin said as he and Cyborg headed out into the tiny living room.   
  
"What's up?" Cyborg noticed how Robin had looked as he and Raven walked out together, almost hopeful. Did he like...Na, Cyborg told himself, He likes Starfire.  
  
Robin looked into his concerned best friend's face and found himself admitting everything, from his greedy thoughts to his love for Raven. When he finished, Cyborg muttered, "Sorry, man. I mean, I took your chance to tell her. Sorry." Robin looked at the half-robot. He was really sorry.  
  
"It's okay, Cy." The two of them stepped into the room again, standing close to the door so that they wouldn't crowd the others. Lecita had perched herself on the edge of the bed, and was just rousing her. "Lecita?" She sat up and clicked on the single lamp, casting shadows around the room. "Sis?" Anna stared at her hard, trying to make out the features of the girl.  
  
"It's me, Ann. I found you, finally." Lecita hugged the girl, who did not pull away. She had already accepted that this girl, even though she hadn't seen her in years, was her sister. Raven stood there, happy her hood hid her face, because she was smiling. These two had come back together in front of her face, giving her hope.  
  
"Anna," Lecita said, grabbing Raven's arm and pulling her closer, "This is Raven. And these," She said with a sweep of her arm, "Are the Teen Titans."  
  
Anna recognized them from the front of the newspapers she stole off her parents. "You guys...Lecita...This is all just too cool! What are your names? The papers don't even know them." Anna wondered if they'd tell her. Each Titan, in turn, introduced themselves. "Raven, you led her here. Thank you!" She embraced Raven, who cringed slightly but said nothing.  
  
"Let's go," Cyborg said, noticing Raven's slight shoulder movement. Anna let go, and they all stood up and headed for the door. A little creaking noise made them all wheel around, only to see Terra.  
  
"Shit!" Robin looked at her in anger. "What are you doing here?"   
  
Terra grinned, tossing back her hair and laughing. "Doing what Slade asked me to do. Kill the sisters and Raven and bring you back, Robin." She smiled again and pulled out a knife. "Lecita...Good for nothing, you went against Slade. You went agenst me! Agenst us!" And she swung the knife hard, directly at her heart, and the swishing froze everyone where they stood.  
  
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Raventhedarkgoddess: That's chapter eight. Also, be warned: Character death soon.  
  
Terra: I'll kill them all.  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: I doubt that. Review and I'll put up another chapter. 


	9. Didn't Like my Offer

Raventhedarkgoddess: Here, chapter nine.  
  
Terra: Now, here's the part where I kill her!  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: Enjoy and reveiw!  
  
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Chapter Nine: Didn't Like My Offer  
  
Lecita saw the knife rushing at her heart, but was inmoble with fear. She whispered goodbye to the world and waited for the knife to hit her. When it didn't come, she opened her eyes, only to see the reason.  
  
Raven stood in front of Terra, who was fighting back, eager to reclaim her knife. Raven's hand had closed around Terra's wrist, but the knife was aimed at Raven's chest. Terra let out a yell and tried to swing it up, but Raven blocked it with her mind. They were rolling on the floor now, hurting one another.   
  
Robin looked hurt and upset as he saw Raven fight. He felt almost sure she was going to die, then she'd get up and keep fighting. Robin yelled the only words he could think of. "Titans, help Raven and take Terra down." Dead or alive, he added in his mind. Everyone but Anna jumped in.  
  
Lecita looked at Raven as she tried to hit Terra. That girl, she told herself, has risked her neck for you since you met her. So what the hell are you waiting for? She pryed Terra's hand off the knife, and was rewarded with an angry kick in the face. Robin took the knife that rolled toward him and did the only thing that made sense: Slammed Terra straight in the chest.  
  
"Murdering feind," Terra muttered. "Slade will get you, and he'll kill your little friends. You'll die unhappy." Terra gave one last smirk and glanced around. "You, Raven, do nothing but ruin my life. Miss Perfect. The good girl, the one who needs trust. May you burn in hell." Terra closed her eyes for the last time. Beast Boy sagged slightly, but kept standing and staring straight ahead.  
  
"And if Slade wants something done right, he has to do it himself," Slade muttered. "Terra was supposed to play my pawn...Stupid girl." Slade kicked her body, which was still warm with it's own blood, into a corner.   
  
Anna watched in fear and terror. This man was evil, she could tell. But what in the world was he after Lecita and the Titans for? What had they done to make this man so angry? He stared at them with a desire to kill she'd only seen once before, and that had been in her father's eyes the night he'd driven off the road and into the ditch.  
  
Slade moved toward Robin, eyes fixed with madness. "Death will come to all of your friends. This is the end." He moved toward Raven, grabbing one of her wrists. "So, do you like your friends as much as you claim? Then watch this one in her final hours." Raven resisted, freeing her wrist with her mind and kicking him with surprising aim.  
  
"Damn you, girl!" Slade noticed her with anger and a lot of surprise. When he reached out for the hem of her cloak, Cyborg slammed him in the back from a distance. Beast Boy, now a monkey, came in and tried to attack Slade, but was thrown off to one side. Starfire and Raven started to float around him, and Starfire managed to smack him in the eye with a green blot.   
  
Slade glanced around through his one good eye. They weren't giving up without a fight, and he knew how to give it to them. "You wanna play dirty, Titans?" Glancing at Robin, he said, "Then let's play dirty!"  
  
Robin clenched his jaw and yelled, "Titans, go." He stared at Slade, who stared back through his eye as if this was just an amusing game. Robin felt hatred from the past few days well up inside him, until, with a furious yelling, he jumped in at Slade. Raven grabbed Robin's shoulder, heaving him back in mid-jump, and yelled, "Do you want to get killed? This is crazy!" She looked at him, and he relised what she ment.  
  
"Go with your girlfriend, Robin! She's right, you'll never win!" Slade played the hate he knew Robin was feeling. "One match, Robin. You and I. If you win...You may kill me. If I win...I'll think of something." Slade grinned and thought, Robin will be my apprintice. I'll make him slaughter his friends, Raven first. Slade laughed at the thought.   
  
"What are you laughing at?" Robin glared at him definantly. Let him laugh, Robin thought. I will win this and show Slade. "Let's go." WIth a grunt, Robin threw himself at Slade, who grabbed his foot and flipped him on his head. Robin landed agenst a wall, his head making a nasty sound.  
  
"Robin, are you uninjured?" Starfire moved toward Robin, but Beast Boy held her back. "Star," he said to her, "We can't help Robin right now." She looked hurt for an instent, but looked away as if she understood.  
  
Lecita held onto her sobbing sister, her own face wet with tears. "It'll be okay, really, sis." Anna looked at her sister and muttered that it wouldn't and she knew it, so why was she trying to pretend?  
  
Lecita sighed and relesed her. Raven put one hand on the girl's shoulder in a forgetful way. Robin was laying on the ground, and she could see that Slade was getting ready to claim victory. She looked into Raven's face and saw something that might have been sadness there. She watched Robin with her eyes intent, but she seemed almost ready to cry. Lecita did the only thing that felt right to her: Threw a knife at Slade and jumped into the battle after it.  
  
The knife had poor aim and was off by several inches. It stuck in the ground, just long enough to quiver. Slade grabbed it's handle, looked straight at Robin, and said, "No help, Robin. Big boys don't cry for their mother." He moved after Lecita, but Robin got up and flung himself onto Slade. Slade fought back, and the two of them rolled over and over until Cyborg moaned that it wasn't supposed to end like this. Slade shook Robin off and took the knife back, grabbing onto Lecita around her skinny waist and lifting her so that her feet no longer even brushed the earth.  
  
"I thought we had a deal, partner. But you didn't like my offer, did you?" He moved the knife toward her, rather slowly. "I never thought I'd have to get rid of you to keep you quiet, Lecita. Such a shame."   
  
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Raventhedarkgoddess: You didn't really think I was going to kill Lecita right there, did you? Okay, short chapter, but I did get one of my goals out of the way. Please reveiw so that I can get back to this soon. ^_^ Sorry, Terra fans. I just couldn't stand her anymore. I'm also sorry for all my typing errors in this story. DO NOT BEG ME FOR AN UPDATE! THIS MEANS YOU, Krazy4Robin! ^_^ 


	10. And I'll never get to tell her

Raventhedarkgoddess: Fine, here's the next chapter. You know, for Lecita being a made-up, you guys sure would mind if I killed her. Oh,well. Read and Review.  
  
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Chapter Ten: And I'll never get to tell her  
  
Anna shook Raven's hand from her shoulder. "You can't!" She glared at Slade. Even though she didn't know that much about him, she didn't think that he would kill someone on purpose. "Lecita never did anything to you!"  
  
"Sharp tounge, Anna. Not that that's the best thing. As you can see, it didn't do much for Terra." Terra's body was still off to one side, and Beast Boy stared at it with a morbid fasination. She still bled, which made Robin wrench his eyes away to stare at Slade. Lecita was struggling, but it did no good.  
  
"Leave her alone!" Now six combined voices said the same thing, from a low growl to a voice that was almost a hiss. Raven stepped up, not sure what she was going to do, but knowing that she had to do something. "No one hurts my friends," she said, giving Slade a good blast that he only narrowly avoided.  
  
"Good, Raven. But not good enough." Slade moved over, his smirk unbearable for Anna, who turned and buried her head in Starfire's shoulder. Starfire patted her gently on the back, her eyes trained on Raven. Slade raised the knife even further, preparing to bring it straight into Lecita's heart.  
  
Robin lept in again. He aimed at Slade, who stepped sideways again. Lecita continued to fight on, her head bashing agenst Slade's chest with every kick she didn't land. Her eyes met with Raven, and Raven jumped in and attemped to disarm Slade. Robin moved back in, and Raven forced Lecita to stand up, freeing Lecita of Slade's grip. Raven saw the knife just a second too late, though.  
  
Robin froze. The knife came down, into Raven. Raven fell without a sound, as if she was ready to die a noble death. She never cried out or shrieked, just lay there on her side. Robin denied what he was seeing. All of this, everything he had just seen...It's just a dream, he told himself. Even as Cyborg took Raven and Terra in his arms and yelled at Robin that they needed to leave, Robin couldn't belive it.  
  
And then he saw the stain where she had been. Denial turned to anger, and that anger made him throw a disk at Slade's head. The mask split, and Robin found himself brusing and cutting every inch of skin he could reach. This is for you, Rave, he thought.  
  
Slade let out a gasp. "It won't end this way, Robin!" Slade got back up, and all Robin could hear was his blood pounding through his head. He jumped back in, determined to kill Slade if he had to in order to reclaim Raven. I'll get her back if he dies, he thought. It was crazy, but Robin felt that not trying would have been even more insane.  
  
Slade found that he was losing his strenght, unable to face Robin's blows after a bit. The boy, he thought, is besting me. Getting back up, Slade caught Robin in his right side.   
  
Robin fired one last blow on his hatred, then noticed a table-side lamp, someone's reading lamp at one time. He snatched it up and prepared to swing it at Slade, overcome with greif and anger at this madman who was making his life hell. Starfire was yelling at the top of her voice at him to quit, Lecita was being restrained by Cyborg, and Anna stood beside the two dead bodies, her eyes wide with fear and shock. Beast Boy had frozen with his mouth open, finding he couldn't yell at Robin anymore while watching the fight. For once he had no words. Everyone watched Robin take the final swing.  
  
For Anna and Lecita, who didn't know Robin very well, it was like watching some bad horror movie in slow motion, like they had used to do when their father was still alive. Slade fell loudly, making a plunking noise as he slammed into the apartment floor. "Robin, you are too late. She's gone." Slade laughed one last time, then fainted dead away. Robin set the lamp down and turned away, not regreting what he had done.  
  
Starfire ran into Robin's side and placed her arm around him, but he shook her off and ran to Raven's side. She was still breathing, although it was shallow and hard to hear. Cyborg had called the police to report Terra and Slade's bodies being here, but said nothing else about the killer. They ran out to the car, Cyborg gunning it before Beast Boy's feet had left the ground and he had slammed his door. Beast Boy managed to climb in slowly, trying not to look down.  
  
Outside the hospital, Robin stood, jumping impatiently as he waited for the workers to come get Raven. Weren't the others pleading their case well enough? Did the stupid workers not give a damn about Raven? Robin trained his eyes to her face, which had no expression on it. She could have been sleeping, had she not been soaked in blood. Her hand twitched, and Robin wondered what her thoughts were about. And then he heard one soft breath, and Raven muttered the words, "My friends...No one hurts my friends." She fell silent again.  
  
Robin looked over at her and sighed. Friends...She had been willing to die for them. Robin loved her even more, so much that he took her hand and sat with her head in his lap. That was how the nurses found him, crying with Raven's head close to his heart. They pried her from him and rushed her into the emergancy room. Cyborg heard about it and found him, and the two of them stared at nothing from a bench outside for a long while. "You really love her, huh?"  
  
"Yes, Cy." Robin had never been able to say the words to anyone until this point. He had just admitted, here and now, that he loved Raven, not Starfire. He had no clue how to deal with it. On top of that, he felt the uncertainty of killing Slade and Terra. Surely both had been evil, but if they were, then why did he feel like murder hadn't been the answer?  
  
"Look, man, Raven'll be fine. You need to go home. We all do." Cyborg pulled Robin to his feet and disappered inside to get Starfire and Beast Boy, who were in the waiting room. Beast Boy still wasn't saying much, and Starfire was so upset that she kept stopping passing nurses, demanding news of Raven. Lecita hugged Anna hard to her. She felt so rotten. Maybe, she thought, if I hadn't let them come with me, Raven would still be alive. Raven sacrificed her life for my happiness...Crying, she followed Cyborg to the car.  
  
Once at the tower, everyone cleaned up and ate. Lecita cooked, but the meal, although wonderful, was hardly noticed by anyone that ate it. The sisters curled up on oppisite ends of the couch and tried to get comfortable by wrapping the blankets around themselves. Anna looked over at her sister, who was looking worried. "Don't worry, big sister. It'll be okay." Wishing that the words she'd just said could be true, Anna fell asleep. Lecita sighed, her only wish that Raven was well, and that she could celabrate with her sister in spite of the tragities that had just occured.  
  
Robin lay awake, staring at his ceiling and seeing only Raven's face. His tears had been spent earlier, and now that he could cry all he wanted, away from his teammates, Robin found he had no tears left. Rolling over onto his side, he thought about her saying about her friends as part of her final words. He quickly chased that from his thoughts. Staring at the wall,he tried to sleep, but found that seven words came up in his mind. They were, And I'll never get to tell her... Still thinking that, Robin fell into a dream of Terra and Raven fighting, Slade killing Raven, and him killing Slade. Although tossing and turning, Robin slept until dawn, moaning in his sleep about how he would never get to tell her he loved her.  
  
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Raventhedarkgoddess: So, how is it? Good, bad, stupid... Why don't you tell me? Reveiw, please. You can beg this time if you want. I DON'T CARE ANYMORE! 


	11. You Mean It?

Raventhedarkgoddess: Okay, don't kill me. It's just a story, people! Okay, here's chapter eleven. Also, once this one is done, I had a strange idea for a sequal, still Raven/Robin. I'm wondering if anyone would read it, though. Okay, here's chapter eleven.  
  
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Chapter Eleven: Do You Mean It?  
  
Robin sighed. Dawn's pale light streamed into his room and he looked around. Raven...He tried to clear his head, and then last night's events came to him clearly. Slade and Terra were dead, Lecita was downstairs, and Raven was in the hospital. Robin, scolding himself for sleeping so long, ran down the stairs. Starfire, looking like she'd done a good deal of crying, was heating breakfast.  
  
"Robin, you have awakened," she said gentley, and hugged him. Robin looked at Cyborg over her shoulder, and he was giving Robin a look of pity. Lecita and Anna were sitting at the table quietly, and Beast Boy wasn't talking much. I shouldn't have killed Terra, he thought. But then, he told himself, she would have killed everyone. Beast Boy doesn't blame me, he added, but he wasn't sure about the truth behind that.  
  
"Robin," Lecita said softly, "I'm so sorry. I should have driven you guys away. I let you stay, and...Raven suffered to help me. I am so sorry. Anna and I...we're leaving later."  
  
"Ya'll aren't leaving now, are ya?" Cyborg fixed her with a riviting stare. "How are we gonna explain to Raven where you went? We still need you here!"  
  
Anna spoke up this time in her small voice. "Lecita, I'm not going to leave. Raven still needs us, and so do the other titans. I hate to seperate us, but if that's how this is gonna be..." Her voice trailed off.  
  
Lecita sighed. I can't leave her, she thought. The others don't hold me responible, so why am I trying to run away from them? She wrapped her arm around her younger sister. "I'm not leaving. I need to stay here, and I'm sorry I doubted you guys. I was so afraid that you would hold me responsible." She felt her eyes fill with tears. Stupid, she thought, don't cry.  
  
"Rave wouldn't want you to feel that way. She won't and neither will we. I'm headed to the hospital. I don't care what you guys do." Robin turned to leave without eating, and everyone else exchanged glances and followed.  
  
Cyborg finally convinced him to get in the car. Man, he thought to himself, Beast Boy and Starfire are losing someone they love, too. Beast Boy lost Terra, Starfire is going to lose Robin...and we all might lose Raven.  
  
"Are you going to stop or what?" Anna said. Cyborg almost passed up an open parking space and they jerked hard agenst their seats. Everyone muttered something and headed inside.  
  
Robin stopped the first nurse he saw. "Excuse me, ma'am. Could you tell me where I could find Miss Raven...?" Robin trailed off. He had forgotten her last name.  
  
"I'm sorry, sir. I need a last name. Many fans have, dressed as the Titans, tried to get into her room. If you don't know her name, then I'll have to send you away." Her expression was critical, and even more doubtful when she saw Anna and Lecita.  
  
"Her last name is Roth. Raven Roth. Can we get in, or do you need her eye color, too?" This was the first time Beast Boy had directly spoken to someone since Terra died. His eyes were trained on the nurse, and Robin felt a horrible surge of guilt. She would have killed you, he tried to remind himself.  
  
"Miss Roth...Miss Roth is in terrible conditon. She's a fighter, though. I will allow five minutes, but do not be shocked at what you see. She can hardly open her eyes." The nurse led them down the hall. Kids these days, she thought, are so rude...  
  
The group made their way in, and Robin saw Raven laying on a bed. She had an IV dripping into her veins and one hand, clenched, lay on top of her blankets. Many other machines whirled around her bed. She looked peaceful in a haunting sort of way, and the room was silent. "Five minutes," the nurse repeted, and left, her high heels clicking on the worn tile.  
  
Starfire moved to Raven's bedside and placed her hand on Raven's. "Get well, friend." She flee the room, unable to stand the sight of Raven anymore. She burst into sobs and chased away the curious people in the waiting room. "Have you never seen a young girl cry?" She asked them, and they hurried on, embarressed to be caught staring.  
  
Beast Boy muttered something, standing at her side, and left without a word to anyone. Cyborg sighed as he took her hand. "Raven, if you don't pull through...I might not. Star and Beast Boy....Lecita, Anna, Robin...We need you, ya know?" He dropped her hand and left. He muttered something to Robin about waiting in the car.  
  
The sisters went to her side together. "If you die because of me...I don't know what I'm gonna do. Get better, Raven. For our sake," Lecita said in a low voice. Anna started to cry and the two of them left to go out to Starfire and Beast Boy.  
  
Robin stood alone by Raven. He looked at her and started to cry. He couldn't remember crying more than once or twice in his life, and now he was crying over Raven for the second time in twenty-four hours. Why? Why are you acting like an idiot? You're supposed to be calm, he snapped at himself. "Raven..." He choked on his words. "I don't know if you can hear me, but..."  
  
Raven stired slightly. I can hear you, she thought. I can...I need to hear your voice. She tried to tell him to stay, but she couldn't even open her eyes. Her whole chest felt like it was on fire, and the stitches in the knife wound were driving her crazy. She was holding out for her friends, and Robin was here now.  
  
"Raven, if you can hear me, I need you to listen. I don't know how long you're going to keep fighting, but please make it so that you hear me out." Robin looked at her with pleading eyes.  
  
Raven tried again, but couldn't bring herself to look at him. She let out a small groan, which was really the best she could do. She racked her brain for a way to reach him.  
  
"Raven, you and I have never been really close. You hung out with everyone else, and so did I...We just never mixed. I'm sorry about that now." He took her hand, and she could feel his warm skin agenst hers.  
  
Robin longed to draw back. She was so cold, almost dead-feeling. "Raven, there is no way to beat around this. I don't know if you can hear me...But I really love you. Not Starfire, like I thought. You. I thought Starfire and I were made for each other, but then you got kidnapped, then hurt. I've killed for you, and althought it weighs on my mind, I don't regret it."  
  
Raven felt her eyes snap open. "Robin..." She moved her hand so that it layed on top of hers, and he helped her prop her body agenst the pillow. She looked at him. "This is really hard to explain..."  
  
Robin felt his hope going away from him. Did she hate him? Was she about to tell him she didn't like him? "Just tell me, Rave." He hoped she didn't take offense at him using Cyborg's pet name for her.  
  
She almost fell forward. "I can't really show you how much I love you, but I do. It's going to have to stay hidden, though. I'm hiding it, but I love you. Someday, I'll learn the perfect way to tell you. But for now...Are the words 'I love you' enough?" She fell forward, and Robin caught her and held her close to him.  
  
"Do you mean it?" He held her head agenst his chest. She looked at him and nodded.   
  
"Robin..."She leaned forward and her lips brushed Robin's. Robin grinned and kissed back, gently. Just then, the nurse entered with Starfire and the others. Starfire's eyes got large in her head.  
  
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Raventhedarkgoddess: Okay, there's chapter eleven. One more problem to solve, and that would be Starfire. Please reveiw and I'll get back to this. 


	12. Even the Worst Wounds Heal

Raventhedarkgoddess: Okay, chapter twelve. Yay for me. I hope you guys like this and I also hoped I'm turning at least one person into a Raven/Robin fan. Enough of my mouth. Chapter twelve.  
  
Chapter Twelve: Even the Worst Wounds Heal  
  
Robin lowered Raven to her bed and she relaxed her head agenst the flat pillow again. Starfire tried to open her mouth, but didn't make a sound as she stared at Robin. Everyone else was just gawking at him, like he had bitten Raven or was a horrible monster. The nurse recovered the quickest. Even she was still a little shaky. "Miss Roth. You're awake. Good. Now, you have to eat something and get out of here soon." She turned to the titans. "It's been five minutes. Your friend requires my care. Come back tommorow. And, Robin, no kissing in my ward." Robin blushed and ran out of the room after his friends.  
  
The group walked out, still stunned into silence, for which Robin was grateful. He wasn't sure how to explain what had happened in there to himself, let alone the others. Raven was finally awake, and she loved him. That was more than enough. He touched his hands to his lips, reliving the kiss, when Lecita spoke. "I'm glad to see Raven awake," she said, but there was a question to her voice.  
  
"Me too," Robin said lightly. Lecita gave him a look, head cocked to one side. What, she thought, is going on in his head? Starfire saw him and...It's not my place to say anything, she told herself.  
  
"What happened in there? Rave okay?" Cyborg looked at Robin, and noticed him touching his lips and then Starfire's expression. "Man, you okay?"  
  
Robin looked up and formed the simplest explaination he could think of right now. "Raven is fine," he said, "but let's just say someone else is mad at me." He gave Starfire a look out of the corner of his eye, and Cyborg looked at Robin. Trying not to act shocked, he nodded.  
  
"Are we going back to the tower?" Anna hoped to distract everyone from what had happened. Starfire wasn't ready to forget, however. She fixed Robin with a stare and began to cry.   
  
"Robin, once you promised me forever. In the terms of Earth, I thought that we would be together until the day of our death. You were kissing Raven today. Please, what is going on?" Starfire fell agenst Beast Boy, who supported her shaking body, keeping her upright.  
  
"Star...Star, things, people...Change. I think you and I have changed. I don't think we belong together anymore. Star, I think we should break up." Robin looked her straight in the eyes. Don't cry, don't blink, he told himself.  
  
Starfire wiped a single tear from her pale cheek. She leaned futher agenst Beast Boy. I do not understand earth very well, she thought to herself, but I am almost certain that Robin and I are no longer together. She started to cry again, Beast Boy patting her shoulder almost mindlessly. What are you doing? he said to himself.  
  
Cyborg sighed as they wheeled into the garage. Lecita said something to Starfire and Anna, and the three of them disappered up the stairs. Robin plunked himself down on the couch next to Cyborg, who was in the middle of a feirce race with Beast Boy. The two of them were betting and laughing. Robin felt glad that Beast Boy wasn't thinking about Terra, but, at the same time, felt his own thoughts drift back to Raven.  
  
She had said she couldn't really show how much she loved him. Robin relised that outwardly displaying affection wasn't really what he wanted. He knew that she loved him, so why did he feel so low? He had to ask her how to deal with Starfire. What if I've ruined their friendship? They were best friends!  
  
"Oh, ya!" Beast Boy stood up and grinned. "I belive you owe me twenty bucks, Cy." Smiling, Beast Boy held his hand out in Cyborg's face. Cyborg, muttering to himself, thrust twenty dollars into Beast Boy's hand.   
  
Cyborg looked around. "At least no one saw that," he muttered cooly. Then he noticed Robin, who looked at them like they were from another planet, his face full of sadness. "Cheer up, man. She'll chill."  
  
Robin sighed. "I guess." He walked upstairs and, yet again, flung himself across the bed. Listening to some vauge, quiet music, Robin sorted out his feelings. Raven's happiness was at the top, but then, so was Starfire understanding him. Robin groaned, rolled over, and slept until eight o' clock undisturbed.   
  
Cyborg entered his friend's room and shook Robin by the shoulders. No wonder Raven doesn't let us in her room. She wants sleep, Robin thought to himself. "We're headed back to the hospital. We thought you would want to come. Did you kiss Rave or something?" Cyborg looked at Robin. He still didn't understand the scene in the car yesterday.  
  
"Ya...We kissed and Star walked in...Cyborg, what am I going to have to do to make her understand me?" Robin looked at Cyborg. "Too much is happening at once..."  
  
"I know, man. We can't worry about it too much, though." The two of them left Robin's room without another word. Starfire was between Lecita and Anna in the back seat. Robin climbed in next to Cyborg, trying to ignore the fact that Starfire was giving him an evil look. They drove on in a heavy silence, broken only by Lecita and Anna talking to one another and Beast Boy muttering to Starfire.  
  
The same nurse, dressed in the same starched white clothing, was in the hall as they walked in. "Miss Roth has changed wards. You're visit has worked mircales. I'll take you there. Robin, kissing is not aloud in this ward either." Robin's face flushed as they followed the nurse. Starfire refused to look at him.  
  
Raven was sitting up this time, reading a heavy horror novel that was from a fan. Her face was serious, but she relaxed her gaze on the book and turned to look at her friends as they walked in. "Hello." She marked her page. Everyone crowded around her bed and began talking at once, which made her say, "Calm down."  
  
Anna and Lecita spoke first. "Raven," Anna said in a heavy voice, "Do you blame Lecita for your injury?" She knew Lecita wouldn't ask, so she asked for her. Anna had never been the kind to mess with her words to make someone happy.  
  
"I don't blame either of you. I hope you didn't get that idea from my friends. I wanted to help you. If I got hurt, it's my fault I offered." Raven straighed out. Where, she thought, did she get the impression I hate her?  
  
Lecita nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Raven. I was just so worried...It was my own thought." Lecita hugged Raven, and Raven sighed and hugged back. If these people don't quit hugging me, she thought, I'm going to have to hurt them. Lecita and Anna muttered something about going to get some coffee, which made everyone give them an odd look, and left.  
  
Beast Boy moved forward. "So, are you okay?" He asked her, his eyes concered. Raven groaned inwardly. This has got to stop. I like Robin, but how can I tell Beast Boy...  
  
"Beast, I'm okay. Please, get off me." His hand was laying on hers. "Please just find someone else. I'm not Terra. Please, don't try to pretend I'm Terra." Beast Boy looked at her and shook his head. He took his hand off hers and she relaxed.  
  
"I know who you are, Raven. I'm just kinda...Well, I dumped you for Terra. I guess I thought I could just come back and make everything good again. You've moved on, though. I think I'll go down and have something to drink with Lecita." Still wondering how he could have been so stupid, Beast Boy headed out of the room.  
  
Cyborg moved up to Raven and the two of them talked lightly about different things. For them, they were still friends. The fight, even though a few people had died, hadn't changed anything. Robin envyed Cyborg, who could talk to Raven and Starfire without guilt. Cyborg stood up and streched. "Well, see you later, Rave. Take care of yourself." She nodded and he left. Only then did Robin relise he was all alone with Starfire and Raven.   
  
Starfire moved forward to Raven's side and began to talk to her quietly. "Raven, perhaps you and I are not still friends. Are we still friends?"  
  
Raven gawked at her. "Look, I was stuck in your body once. I think that a little guy trouble shouldn't change anything between us. Starfire, unless you don't want to be friends, then we are."  
  
Starfire hugged Raven, who almost died from lack of air. "Glorious! I wish to recite the poem of Friendship now." She relesed Raven, who rubbed her neck.  
  
"How long is that one?" She asked lightly. Do people on that planet have a poem for everything? I think they might, she thought to herself. Starfire stopped reciting when she remembered Robin was there.  
  
"This poem is only to be preformed in front of people who are friends. I cannot recite it for you now." Starfire turned and left. Raven couldn't figure out what she meant until she noticed that Robin was still there. "You two are still fighting?"  
  
"Ya. Raven, what am I going to do? I like you, but I can't make her see that." Robin groaned in his mind again. Raven probably won't know, he thought.  
  
"Even the worst wounds heal, Robin. She'll find someone else. Try again to make her understand, but don't worry too much if she doesn't. It'll be okay."  
  
"Thanks, Raven." Sounds like she didn't know what to tell me, he added in his mind. he gave her a hug and she considered yelling at him, but let it go and hugged back. The nurse grabbed his shoulder.  
  
"Getting ready to kiss again, are you? Miss Roth, I expected better. Get out, Robin. Your visiting time is up." She pushed him gently toward the door, and he could hear Raven pleading their case. Now to talk to Star, he thought. Oh, boy.  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: NO! Writers block in the middle of the chapter I was writing. I guess I'll just post what I have. Please review. 


	13. Peace will come

Raventhedarkgoddess: Hey, thanks for the reveiws. Here we go. Another chapter! cheering  
  
Chapter Thirteen: Peace Will Come  
  
Robin walked up the staircase, toward the small door that kept Starfire away from the rest of the group. He knocked once. He heard nothing at first, then a weak moan followed by nothing. "Who has come to my door?" She called out. She was laying across her bed, and she didn't feel like talking. She wanted to sleep and forget about Robin.  
  
Robin tried the knob. It swung open, reveiling Starfire, who sat up and snorted when she saw him. "Robin, I do not wish to speak with you." She looked him in the eyes and said nothing. Do not cry, she said in her mind.  
  
"Star, I'm sorry. Raven and I...I love Raven. She's not to blame, I am. Starfire, you can't stay mad at me." Robin sat down on her bed and felt like he was dealing more with a younger sister than with his old girlfriend.  
  
"Robin, you are forgiven. Please do not speak to me anymore. I wish to be alone for a while." She pushed him out of her room and Robin staggered into the hall and hit his head lightly off the oppisite wall. Muttering to himself and feeling happier for having gotten the words out, he retreated down the steps to where Beast Boy and Cyborg were still fighting over the money.  
  
"Dude, you didn't pay me enough. I'm just lucky I noticed. Pay up. I knew you couldn't win at that game if your life depended on it. Twentey bucks, or I'll also say you have to wear one of Star's skirts." Beast Boy grinned and held out his hand.  
  
"This is so stupid." Cyborg thrust another ten dollars at Beast Boy and turned to Robin. "She forgive you, man?" When Robin nodded, Cyborg smiled. "Nice job."  
  
Lecita walked into the room and glanced at the three boys. "Robin, did Starfire forgive you?" Robin nodded again, getting sick of the same question, and Anna smiled. She opened her mouth to speak, but a phone ring cut off her reply. Robin jumped to answer it to avoid having to reply further, but Cyborg answered it. "Yep." He paused to listen. "Really?" The sound of a cool female voice was heard again, although too faint to hear what was being said. "Okay, we'll be right there." He turned to the Titans with a smile. "Raven is coming home," he said in a relevied voice.  
  
Robin smiled. "Three days ago she couldn't even speak. Are they sure she can handle this?" Robin's smile faded. "What if something goes wrong once she gets home?"   
  
"Kinda cute, how tense you are," Lecita teased him. Robin ignored the tone of her voice, because her teasing was like being teased by a sister, not a girlfriend. "She'll be fine unless we leave her there. Come on!"  
  
Beast Boy sighed when Anna asked him to go get Starfire. She always seemed so cheerful, as long as she had Robin. And Beast Boy himself knew that losing Terra was making him too quiet. Maybe, he thought, I could use someone else in my life. If it can't be Raven, maybe Star would...He looked up, shocked that he was on the roof already. "Star? Starfire?" Beast Boy called to her gently.  
  
Starfire had taken a seat on the roof after shoving Robin away from her. She turned to Beast Boy, eyes rimmed with red and hair tangled slightly. He sat down beside her and the two of them said nothing. "Raven is coming home," he said finally. "Everyone wants you to come with us, Star." He set his hand on hers lightly. She noticed it but didn't say anything.  
  
"I shall come with you, Beast Boy." She stood up lightly, wiped the last tears away with the back of her hand, and allowed him to hold her hand. Lecita smiled when she saw them, Anna just climbed into the car, and Robin looked on quietly. Maybe, he thought, she'll go out with Beast Boy and forgive me.  
  
Starfire still ignored Robin, though, and he felt his heart sinking. He just wanted to ask her, flat out, what he could do to stop their fight. But, he reasoned with himself, she wouldn't tell you anyway. He relised that, in spite of everything, he didn't feel sorry about killing Slade and Terra because they were the reason that Raven had gotten hurt and Starfire hated him. Maybe...  
  
"Robin!" Lecita grabbed his arm, annoyed with him. "Your girlfriend will be really hurt if you don't come inside." He could see his friends heading for the building. He muttered something in reponse and the two of them headed into the building. Raven was standing there waiting, arms crossed and her cloak back in place around her shoulders. She was being hugged by Starfire and rolled her eyes in Robin's direction. "Raven, you are coming home! We shall partake of food and we shall talk and..." Starfire listed many things that she thought she and Raven could do when they got back to the tower.  
  
"Well, good to see you, Rave." Cyborg grinned when he saw her roll her eyes at the ceiling. She hasn't changed at all, he thought. Just then, she moved forward to him and said something. Cyborg jumped when she almost yelled his name. "I said that it's nice to see you, but I'd rather see Titan tower right now. Take us home." Robin slid his hand through hers and they walked out to the car.   
  
The ride back to the Tower was noisy and crowded. Lecita and Anna seemed to finally be celerbrating being together by singing off-key at the top of their voices. Starfire was brighter than she had been in days. Beast Boy was telling jokes, and she was laughing. Raven had taken her position next to Cyborg in the front of the car and was leaning agenst the window, muttering about her friends. Robin just smiled at the scene.  
  
Raven went straight up the steps and into the living room. Everyone watched her slowly sit down and look around, and then she smiled. "I don't know what I'd do without you guys. Thank you." With that, she stood back up and left. Lecita went into the kitchen to start dinner. "She's just tired, man," said Cyborg in an soft voice.  
  
Raven pulled out her mirror and disapered into her mind. She needed to check for one thing, before she hurt Robin. She looked around at all of the girls she called her emotions and saw one she didn't reconize. Cloaked in a pale pink, almost white, it seemed content. Raven knew that it was her ability to love. She hadn't seen it in so long...With that, she left her mind and headed down the stairs.  
  
"Raven, what are you so happy about?" Robin saw her smiling. "Are you okay?" He took her hand, but she pulled back at his concern. What is his problem? she thought.  
  
"I'm fine. The food smells good, I'm alive, and I finally found someone who doesn't think I'm a freak. Let's go eat." Now she took his hand and they sat down at the table. Everyone else came in, and Lecita sighed. Beast Boy was flinging food everywhere as he ate. "Should I have made more?" She asked. The rest of them just sighed and ate what Beast Boy wasn't in the middle of shoving into his mouth.  
  
Anna and Lecita were the last ones out of the kitchen. Anna sighed when she came out. "It's...Time for us...We have to..." Lecita began, stuttering.  
  
"We have to go off and live our lives now. It's been great, hanging out and all. I'll never be able to thank you guys enough." Anna ran forward and hugged Raven. "Thanks for getting my sister to me." With that, she and her sister walked out the door, everyone in pursut.  
  
Raven was the first one there. She grabbed Lecita's shoulder. "Hey, where do you get off leaving without this?" She tossed her a comunicator, then tossed one to Anna. "Keep in touch. That's thank you enough." The groups finally parted for real this time.  
  
"Um...Robin?" Beast Boy had come to his side. "Listen..." He looked around to make sure no one else was listening. "Would you mind if I asked Starfire out?" Robin's eyes got wide at the fact that Beast Boy asked him for permission. Beast Boy took it the wrong way. "If you don't want me to..."   
  
Robin managed to force the words out without laughing. "No, I don't mind. Go for it." He walked back up to Raven, leaving Beast Boy alone with her. She looked over at him. "Starfire, will you go out with me?" Beast Boy asked, all on one breath.  
  
"As Robin and I did?" He nodded. "I accept. Perhaps we may go somewhere...What do you think?" She smiled at him. Now that I think about it, she told herself, he is cute.  
  
"Pizza?" He asked. She nodded again. "I'll treat." The two of them decided to walk, and so they set off hand in hand. Raven noticed them from the tower window and smiled.  
  
"Robin, something is still wrong with you. Cyborg's not around, you can tell me." She could tell he was sad. Is it Star? What if he doesn't like me? Then what?  
  
"Raven...So much has happened. At first it was just a battle, then you disappered...I felt like my life was over. We got you back, but Lecita wanted to see her sister. We helped her, and I killed Slade and Terra...You got hurt...Starfire hated me as you got better...I hardly know what to think anymore. I'm only sure of one thing: I love you."   
  
Raven gave him a hug. "Robin, you're going to feel concerened. I mean, you killed them. But don't keep thinking like that. It'll get better. Starfire and Beast Boy...They'll stay together. If you and I stay together, you can get over it, and he'll get over Terra, and Star will get over you. Things are confusing, but peace will come. Hold on." She brushed his hair out of his eyes.  
  
Robin noticed how beautiful she really was, with her body resting agenst the background of the setting sun. He leaned over and kissed her, and they stayed on the window seat until late that night, getting to understand one another. Cyborg found them both asleep that night, Raven's head agenst Robin's shoulder. Peace had come to them in sleep.  
  
Raventhedarkgoddess: There, that's my story. I hope you like it. Reveiw, please. I may write a sequal... 


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